What Is The Latest Legal Update On Divorce and Separation?

In January 2020, the Supreme Court has waived off the statutory cooling period of 6 months, provisioned earlier in the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, before granting a divorce. From now on, a trial court can dispense with this period if there is no possibility of cohabitation between the estranged couple.

In India, as with most personal matters, rules for divorce are connected to religion. Divorce among Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains is governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Muslims by the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, Parsis by the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 and Christians by the Indian Divorce Act, 1869. All civil and inter-community marriages are governed by the Special Marriage Act, 1956. The divorce law works with some conditions and is not the same in all situations.

A spouse can initiate to give a legal notice for divorce to the other spouse before ending the husband and wife relationship. There are types of divorce petitions.

Types of Divorce Petitions

A couple can get a divorce with mutual consent, or either spouse may file for divorce without the consent of the other.

Divorce With Mutual Consent

A couple can get a divorce with mutual consent, or either spouse may file for divorce without the consent of the other.

When husband and wife both agree to a divorce, the courts will consider a divorce with mutual consent. Matters such as children’s custody, maintenance, and property rights could be agreed to mutually.

Divorce Without Mutual Consent

In case of a contested divorce, there are specific grounds on which the petition can be made. The grounds are 1. Cruelty 2. Adultery 3. Desertion 4. Conversion 5. Mental Disorder 6. Communicable Disease 7. Renunciation of the World 8. Presumption of Death

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